Ségolène Royal, defeated Socialist presidential candidate, has made clear she has separated from her partner François Hollande, leader of the party, and that she will fight to take over the party from him.

Once France's most important power-couple, the Royal-Hollande partnership and its rifts on policy and strategy dominated the Socialist election campaign.

In a book to come out on Wednesday, Behind the Scenes of a Defeat, Ms Royal asks that Mr Hollande, the father of her four children, is not described as her partner because "that is no longer the case".

Ms Royal is quoted as saying she had asked Mr Hollande "to move out of the house" and pursue his new love interest "which has been detailed in books and newspapers". She said she "wished him happiness" and they were on good terms. "We talk. We respect each other." She did not specify when they split, according to the book's authors, two journalists of the Agence France Presse news agency.

Speculation over rivalry between the pair and Ms Royal's drive to take over the party grew greatly in the run-up to last night's parliamentary vote. It became such that one leading socialist Manuel Valls, warned: "I've had enough of political life, notably that of my own party, being driven by the relationship of one couple."

The couple met in 1978 but never married. In the campaign they frequently denied rumours they were to split. They began a law suit against other book authors for saying their relationship was in crisis. There was no comment from either on the news reported on TV, but party colleagues on live shows did not dispute it. Former Socialist prime minister Laurent Fabius said the breakup was a "private decision" which did not concern the party.

Mr Hollande is due to remain party leader until autumn next year but several Socialist officials suggest the leadership should be resolved this year. Ms Royal has said she would run to replace him if Socialists accept her programme for reform.